SpectraCell Blog

We’ve all heard the proverbial advice for achieving a healthy body and maintaining our weight: exercise and “eat right.” But for those who really want to delve further into the science behind an enviable metabolism, we offer a list of vitamins with an explanation of their role in the body’s ability to burn fat and build muscle.

Vitamin A: This vitamin is particularly good at regulating how genes are expressed. Although genes do determine to an extent how the body stores or burns fat, our genes are, simply stated, not our destiny. Two persons with the same gene may express it very differently, depending on their individual cellular environment. This is where vitamin A enters the picture. It can actually enhance the expression of certain genes that lower a person’s tendency to store food as fat. If one is vitamin A deficient, s/he may be pre-disposed to storing fat tissue. On the other hand, correcting a vitamin A deficiency may have a different, more positive effect, as studies have indicated that vitamin A may reduce the size of fat cells.

Vitamin E: This micronutrient affects metabolism by inhibiting immature fat cells from developing into mature fat cells, which are more “stubborn,” metabolically speaking. The cumulative effect of this is a reduction in fat storage.

Vitamin B3: Also called niacin, vitamin B3 can increase the hormone adiponectin, which is secreted by fat cells. Adiponectin’s main function is to signal cells to burn fuel. It also has a role in helping muscles use glucose for energy rather than storing it as fat.

Vitamin B5: Some evidence suggests that vitamin B5 (AKA pantothenate or pantothenic acid) might be helpful for weight loss because it has been associated with less hunger when dieting. At the cellular level, vitamin B5 activates the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, which breaks down fat cells.

This list is by no means exhaustive: in fact, there are multiple micronutrient influences on weight loss. These micronutrients work both individually and synergistically, and repletion often promotes clinical benefits throughout the body. It should come as no surprise that micronutrient adequacy also supports heart health and energy levels. Therefore, discovering (then correcting) micronutrient deficiencies becomes a critical first step in improving overall health.

Download our quick reference nutrient wheel for weight management.

Tired of not getting the results you want? Interested in learning how you can improve the efficacy of your weight management routine? Get tested and find out how your micronutrient status stacks up!

Epigenetics – the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration in the genetic code itself– has gained much attention in recent years. Environmental factors including diet, smoking and stress have been shown to impact gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. In a recent experiment involving the collaboration of several medical institutions, an experiment was performed on mice to determine how their immunity responded to a typical Western diet. When mice were fed a Western diet, systemic inflammation occurred which was entirely expected. However, what was particularly interesting was that the Western (inflammatory) diet fundamentally changed their immune system. After eating high calorie, low nutrient food, not only did the mice exhibit more systemic inflammation (not surprising), but their white blood cells became programmed to remain hyper-sensitive to inflammatory triggers. The cellular “memory” had changed.Here is how it worked: a gene called NLRP3 (for Nucleotide binding domain Like Receptor Protein) makes a protein that is used by our immune cells to recognize harmful bacteria and viruses. This protein made by the NLRP3 gene recognizes “bad” cell remnants. These can be parts of bacterial cell membranes, or pieces of genetic material found in viruses, or even parts of a cell that are supposed to be contained but may leak out due to cellular trauma. It is a fundamental way our immune cells recognize something is wrong – bacteria are present or acute tissue damage occurred, for example – and thus launch an inflammatory response to deal with the biological crisis and take care of it. In this study, the immune cells in mice fed a typical Western diet of high-calorie, low nutrient foods launched the same inflammatory response as if an invading bacterial infection were present. Furthermore, the immune cells became hypersensitive so that they continued their inflammatory attack, even when the mice’s diet was returned to normal. In other words, the immune cells responded to a Western diet in the same way it responds to infections. But instead of the infection clearing up, the Western diet seemed to reprogram the immune cells to stay in a perpetual hyperactive state. These results may help explain why chronic inflammation is behind so many lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes.